


Background Commentary 2

by Relh99



Series: While We Wait [7]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: One-Shot, cursing, mention of sharp objects, no beta we die like men, rated T because of Remus, takes palace during season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,164
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26042080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Relh99/pseuds/Relh99
Summary: Just because they weren’t in every episode doesn’t mean Janus and Remus didn’t have their own thoughts and opinions relating to the topics the others discussed with Thomas. And just because one of them went up to make an appearance didn’t mean the other had to stay silent on the matter.This is Janus and Remus’ missing commentary on a good chunk of episodes from season 2 of Sanders Sides.(Part 7 of the series, but a “sequel” to Background Commentary. While this can be read without reading any of the other fics before it, there are minor references to moments from previous fics.)
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Series: While We Wait [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1742587
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	Background Commentary 2

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot how long season 2 was before writing this. 
> 
> Like last time, every ****** is an episode change, and the list of episodes referenced in order will be at the end.
> 
> Also, I tried to tag what I thought was necessary for this fic, but Remus does play a large role, so if anyone thinks I missed something that should be tagged, please let me know. I want to give proper warning on my fics, but I don’t always know what requires a warning.

Virgil hadn’t been part of Janus and Remus’ sit in sessions for awhile now, but it still felt weird to know that he was actively working with the other three. Before, it had been a vague feeling that they didn’t discuss. But now that it was officially out in the open?

“Listen to him,” Remus grumbled. “Acting like he’s part of the group. Giving his opinions and shit as if they actually matter.”

“You say that as if your opinions matter,” Janus chuckled.

“Rude.”

“Oh really?” Janus asked, feigning ignorance. “I thought my comment had been rather polite! Do tell me where I went wrong!”

Remus paused for a moment to think of a witty retort, but Janus wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Patton had said something that caught his focus.

“ _If you're looking for a reason Logan it makes Thomas happy! And isn't good mental health an important reason?_ ”

“Are you even listening to me?” Remus huffed, annoyed. 

“Is morality actually agreeing with me on a topic for once?” Janus asked, ignoring Remus’ question. “I know I said getting Thomas to dye his hair would be a good change, but dear old dad actually agrees with my stance regarding Thomas’ mental health?”

Remus rolled his eyes, not giving two flying fucks about Thomas’ mental health. “I still think if Thomas wanted to make a big change, he should’ve just shaved his head. Imagine Mr. Sanders strutting up with a perfectly waxed head, shine and all! That’d make a much bigger impression.”

“I’m glad you’re just intrusive thoughts and not impulses,” Janus sighed. There was a reason why he still refused to let Remus run amok, spewing out horrendous ideas, such as Thomas willing going bald.

“Do your scales keep going under your hair on the left side?” Remus asked, staring intensely at Janus’ hair line.

Janus pulled the rim of his hat down further into his forehead. “No.”

“Are you lying?” Remus pressed.

“No.”

“Are you lying about not lying?” 

Janus sighed. “I’m not doing this all night.” 

Remus grinned excitedly. “So that’s a yes?”

“NO!”

Remus opened his mouth to argue further, but he paused at the sound of Roman’s voice adding to the discussion up in Thomas’ living room.

” _Well, all the other houses are definitely taken by us so it's the only one he could possibly fit into_.”

“Did he forget that we exist?” Remus asked, staring at the den ceiling, as if he were hoping to see into Thomas’ living room.

“Wouldn’t surprise me if object permanence wasn’t his strong suit,” Janus smirked. 

“I’m his fucking twin,” Remus said.

“Clearly you haven’t made enough of an impression on him,” Janus teased.

Remus snapped and waved his finger in Janus’ direction, as if he had suddenly figured out the solution to a puzzle. “This is why we have to convince Thomas to shave his head.”

Janus groaned. “No, that’s not what I was saying at all.”

******  
  


Thomas hadn’t been in the best mood that day. The energy in the mind palace felt off, but it wasn’t unfamiliar. Janus has caught on pretty quickly as to what the dilemma was, but Remus was hanging upside down on the loveseat clueless. For once, he was actually focusing hard on what Thomas and Virgil were talking about, trying to figure out why everyone was in this weird funk.

” _Ugh. I've just been... thinking,_ ” they heard Thomas sigh.

” _Thinking?_ ” Virgil asked. ” _About what?_ ”

Thomas took a deep breath to steady himself and Remus held his waiting for an answer. 

“ _Guys..._ ” Thomas admitted.

“That’s it?” Remus shouted.

“ _...and Dolls_.”

“Oh shit,” Remus said, sitting up suddenly. Everyone knew that that specific musical meant to Thomas. 

“Tell me about it,” Janus sighed. He hated when this feeling lingered in the mind palace. While he didn’t consider himself an overly joyful person, the depressing air was not welcomed. 

” _Uh, can everyone else get in here, please? I am not equipped for this,_ ” they heard Virgil request, sounding a little more panicked than usual.

“He said everybody,” Remus said, sounding a little more chipper. “Does that include us?”

Janus just stared at the Duke. “You act like I’m not going to tell you when you’re free to go harass Thomas.” 

“I could take his mind off of things,” Remus suggested. 

“And cause more issues, hurting his mental health in the process?” Janus scoffed. “Yeah, sounds like an idea I’d support.”

“So I can go?” Remus asked, smiling excitedly.

“NO!” Janus snapped. “That was a LIE! I tend to do that on occasion!”

” _Roman, sit down, you're rocking the boat,_ ” they heard Logan chide.

“Is that what you’ve been referencing with your ‘rocking the boat’ bullshit?” Remus asked, raising his voice in sudden realization.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Janus denied. “Also, you’re one of Thomas’ sides. How do you not understand these references?”

******

Janus and Remus weren’t really holiday people. Christmas was an overly joyous time for friends and family, neither of which they particularly cared about. Janus preferred more selfish holidays, like birthdays and Halloween, while Remus just hated his brother and the idea that he was supposed to play nice just because a certain holiday said so. The most they ever did was light the fireplace in the den and exchange a gag gift or two. Nothing too serious.

When they heard Patton and Roman go up to bug Thomas into making a Sanders Sides Christmas themed video, the two of them thought nothing of it. It wasn’t bound to be a serious video or conversation, so there wasn’t any reason for them to listen in.

The sound of the Roman and Patton roping Virgil and Logan into singing a revamped version of The Twelve Days of Christmas was humorous, but Janus tuned them out for the most part. The song had ended and they were all sharing their farewells from what he could tell.

Roman’s voice spoke up for a moment. ” _May visions of sugarplums dance in your head-_ “

“-and hopefully not visions of your naked Aunt Patty,” Remus said, finishing Roman’s sentence for him.

“Thank you so much for that imagery, Remus,” Janus sighed, not at all surprised by the sudden commentary. 

“Anytime, J-anus.”

******

Today was the big day! Remus was left alone in the den to listen in on the Thomas meeting. Janus was finally going up there himself to convince Thomas to lie. While it wasn’t the most exciting thing Remus could think of, Janus showing up meant he himself was closer to getting to introduce himself to the T-man himself! He laid down on the floor and stared at the ceiling, listening closely to what was being discussed. He and Janus had a bet going on to see if any of the sides could recognize the Patton they were talking to wasn’t their dear old daddy. 

Logan’s voice was added to the group’s and Remus could hear Janus-Patton clap his hands together over the new arrival. ” _Oh, good, Logan! Everyone's favorite character!_ ”

Remus snorted and grabbed a handful of popcorn off of the floor. He had thrown the bowl off to the side when he decided to lay down. The hair and fuzz from the carpet added to the flavor. “Oh my god they’re fucking dense if they’re believing any of this,” he mumbled through his chewing. “J-anus, I thought you were supposed to be good at lying!”

He was surprised to hear Thomas suggest lying first. He assumed (emphasis on ass) that Janus was going to have to push a lot harder to get Thomas to consider it, but the boss man was already on the same page as the snake. Obviously if the real Patton was there, the idea would’ve been shot down, just like any idea that wasn’t PG approved, but fake-Patton was there, and this plan might work.

” _Lying is only gonna bring about more trouble, Thomas. You know this._ ”

Ah yes. Anxiety was there to play the role of wet sock today. Remus smirked at the wording their old acquaintance went with, subtly hinting at Deceit’s existence without actively raising the alarm. He was already on the lookout for the snake to enter their little garden.

This is why he had $20 down betting Virgil would discover Janus first. 

Listening to Deceit pretend to be Morality was definitely strange, and Remus knew strange. Not-Patton starting rambling on about some famous philosopher named Cunt or something. Seemed counterproductive since that old fart was totally against lying, but if Janus wanted to shoot himself in the foot right away, Remus wasn’t going to stop him. Logan was impressed at the idea of Patton referencing a philosopher correctly, but Virgil’s comment was what caught Remus’ attention:

” _Impressed isn't the word I'd use._ ”

“HAH!” Remus laughed, punching a fist up towards the ceiling. “Virgil figured it out first! You owe me $20, snake boy!”

Roman got them all to move into the mind palace auditorium, effectively cutting off Remus’ connection to listen in. Sure, he could skip his happy ass on over, but he got the feeling Janus would try to find a way to kill him and keep him dead if he blew his cover. He didn’t mind staying behind though. Someone had to lick up all of those popcorn crumbs before Janus got back anyway.

They had stayed in the auditorium much longer than Remus had anticipated. He was starting to get bored and mentally debated between either lighting matches and throwing them towards the fireplace to see if he could get the fire going from across the room, or lighting matches and throwing them towards the ceiling to see if he could get burn marks to show up.

The other sides and Thomas reappeared in the living room before Remus could hunt down a box of matches unfortunately, so he went back to his laying down and listening. It sounded like Thomas was suddenly against the idea of lying to Joan, so Deceit clearly fucked up at some point in the auditorium. That’s what he got for playing into Roman’s fantasies. 

It was obvious that Logan and Virgil had figured out that Patton wasn’t Patton, but it wasn’t until Logan was suddenly silenced when Princey caught on.

” _Oooh I get it now..._ ”

“Fucking took you long enough ya nitwit,” Remus scoffed. He knew his brother wasn’t the sharpest knife in the baby, but he didn’t think he was that dull.

It didn’t take long for Janus to reveal himself Scooby Doo villain style, and it didn’t take long for the real Patton to show up and the rest of them to kick Janus out. Remus remained on the floor, knowing that his pal would be in shortly to go over the events of the last hour or so.

The door to the den slid open right as Thomas said, ” _Guess that was the real Patton shining through._ ”

“Guess he really does choose to listen to Patton the most out of all of them,” Remus said as Janus shut the door behind him.

“I chose him as my disguise for a reason.”

“Smart,” Remus hummed. He sat up while Janus went to take a seat on the couch. “Also, you owe me $20. Virgil totally found out first.”

Janus shook his head. “Logan said it first.”

“I could just punch your teeth out and take them as payment,” Remus suggested.

Janus rolled his eyes as he reached for his wallet. “Wow I’m shaking in my boots I’m so scared.”

******

It wasn’t too often that just one of the sides would show up to help Thomas with an issue. When Janus heard Logan rise up into the living room, he waited for the other three stooges to show up. Roman showing up next wasn’t what surprised the snake faced side. It was the fact that Logan had summoned Princey to help him with an issue.

“ _I apologize. I usually don’t call others in. Typically I can just work things out on my own._ ”

“No, rather you ramble to me at 2 am while you’re busy chugging coffee and try to ask me for help, but sure, go ahead and tell them you work everything out alone. It’s not like Thomas doesn’t know I exist and therefore you can’t credit me properly,” Janus scoffed. He wasn’t mad.

“Why are you helping Mr. Stick up his ass?” Remus asked, only half paying attention to the conversation happening with Thomas.

“It was all connected to my plan leading up to me revealing myself to Thomas,” Janus explained. “I had hoped teach would’ve taken my side since I helped him out in the past with some of his dilemmas.”

“Lemme guess,” Remus smirked. “It didn’t work out for ya?” 

Janus glared at the Duke. “I paid you your $20, you can shut up about my failure now, thank you.”

Someone had said something in the living room that must’ve caught Virgil’s attention, because the purple clad side’s voice could suddenly be heard.

” _All right, all right. Just be careful what you talk about. Because I’m listening,_ ” he warned before sinking back down into the mind palace.

“We’re all listening, All-American Reject! You’re not special!” Remus shouted.

“You know he can’t hear you,” Janus said. “He’s probably on the other side of the mind palace by now.”

Janus didn’t have many regrets in life, but telling Remus someone couldn’t hear him was one of them. He listened to the intrusive thot inhale deeply before screaming in the loudest, vocal cord destroying tone, “ **WE’RE ALL LISTENING, ALL-AMERICAN REJECT! YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL!** ”

Surprising to no one, Virgil heard the Duke’s yelling and shouted back from wherever he was in the mind palace. “KISS MY ASS, REMUS!”

“ **I CAN ARRANGE THAT!** ”

“I will strangle you in your sleep and have zero regrets, shut the fuck up,” Janus threatened. It was moments like that that made Janus happy over the fact that he wasn’t a real person. There’s no way he’d be able to hear after that if he was anything other than a figment of Thomas’ imagination.

Janus tried to focus back on whatever Logan and Roman were discussing with Thomas, not because he cared, but because he didn’t want to focus on Remus. It sounded like they were going back and forth over whether or not Thomas should be allowed to use technology before bed. Roman mentioned some app Janus had never heard of though called Twinster.

” _Actually, no. It’s an app that shows you what you’d look like if you had an identical twin,_ ” Princey explained. 

“He- he has an identical twin,” Janus whispered, just confused by how excited Roman seemed to be over the app. 

“I could go up there and-”

“And nothing,” Janus said, cutting Remus off. 

” _Absolutely no technology 30 minutes before bed,_ ” Logan lectured. ” _Also, you should only associate your bed with sleep._ ”

“And smashing nasty bits,” Remus added.

“What are you, five?” Janus sighed. Remus grinned widely and Janus instantly regretted his statement.

“Yeah, five inches deep in y-”

“Nope, nope!” Janus said loudly, throwing a pillow off the couch right at Remus’ face. “I didn’t say anything!”

” _No, chimerical: existing only as the product of unchecked imagination,_ ” Logan explained. Janus groaned. He wasn’t at all frustrated that he kept missing parts of the conversation due to the Duke’s antics. Everything was fine.

Somehow, despite all the nonsense running through his head, Remus had also managed to hear Logan’s vocab word of the day. “I’m the unchecked imagination here-”

“You’re not going up there and that’s final,” Janus said firmly, cutting him off.

“You pretend to be Patton for one day and suddenly you think you’re my dad,” Remus scoffed.

“That’s it, you’re grounded.”

At some point Logan and Roman started actively arguing, going back and forth claiming that they knew what was best for Thomas. Thankfully, the arguing didn’t last too long since Thomas was able to come to the conclusion that a compromise between the two was the best choice. Janus rolled his eyes when Logan and Roman started telling Thomas to listen to the other more often, but the mention of the failed game from earlier caught Remus’ attention.

” _H- Uh, thank you for bringing that up. I was honestly a little miffed muffet when I realized he didn’t come to me for assistance on that one,_ ” Roman admitted to Thomas, clearly confused about where the concept of the show stack game came from.

“Is he shitting on my shoe stack idea?” Remus asked, glaring at the ceiling. 

“You have to admit, Dukey, that idea did stink,” Janus chuckled.

Remus threw his arms up in the air in frustration. “That was the whole point!”

******

Thomas having a dilemma without knowing what exactly the dilemma was was both a hilarious and frustrating concept to Janus. They knew it stemmed from one of Thomas’ friends asking what he really did for a living, not counting YouTube. If Thomas cared less about what other people thought, they wouldn’t even be having this problem to begin with, but no one wanted to listen to him. The other sides were busy trying to brainstorm ways to get Thomas to focus on the issue so that they could figure out what exactly the issue was.

” _You, uh, you always do your best thinking in the shower,_ ” Roman threw out there.

“Clearly the solution is for everybody to get naked,” Remus said. 

Janus didn’t even look up. “Where do you come up with these solutions?”

Remus shrugged. “I just say the first thing that comes to mind.”

“Shocking,” Janus hummed. He wasn’t paying much attention to Remus or the upstairs idiots, focusing more on the word search he was working on. The conversation was more background noise. Patton was rambling about how words were hard and Virgil asked Thomas what the father figure was trying to say.

” _I don't know,_ ” Thomas admitted.

Without hesitating, Janus and Remus both said, “Third base.”

“Classic,” Janus smirked. 

Somewhere along the lines, Patton suggested using puppets to help Thomas out. Why he was the side Thomas chose to listen to most of all, Janus couldn’t figure out. Patton must’ve shape-shifted though to resemble a puppet because Thomas screamed suddenly. 

“ _Oh! Sorry, kiddo, I- I just always wanted to do the old Kermit ‘YAY!_ ’” he heard Patton explain.

” _Oh_ ,” Thomas laughed nervously. ” _Me too... uhm. That's what I was doing. You definitely didn't actually scare me_ ,” he lied.

“Huh,” Janus said, suddenly interested. “Maybe I did manage to get through to him.”

Virgil called Thomas a dork and Remus grinned. “Did you know dork means whale penis?” 

“Interesting,” Janus said, focusing back on his word search. “Tell me more.”

That had been the wrong choice of words with Remus.

******

” _Myyyyy milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and they're like, WHOO, it's better than yours!_ ”

That was a moment in Thomas’ Vine career that Janus often convinced Thomas didn’t actually happen. It was all a bad dream. Virgil showing them while they were all up recording a video was a low blow. Perhaps Janus could try and persuade Thomas to delete that part during editing. Just pretend it never happened.

“I still stand by that idea!” Remus shouted. 

Janus sighed and buried his face in his hands. “And this is why you’re not allowed to get involved with Thomas’ YouTube content.”

“You’re just jealous I actually got Thomas to go with one of my suggestions back then,” Remus said, sticking his tongue out like a child who just won an argument. 

Another old Vine of Thomas’ was played. ” _My humps, my humps, my humps, my humps, my lovely laaaaaaady lumps. OOH_!”

“You cannot defend that one,” Janus groaned.

“It’s another classic!” Remus argued.

“It’s another example of why you’re not allowed to help with the YouTube videos!”

******

Remus had been left alone again since Janus went up again to join the ‘Thomas has another dilemma’ meeting. Just like last time, they had all moved out of the living room and into the mind palace, cutting Remus off from hearing the vast majority of the discussion. Not that he cared. He savored the time he had alone to wander around the mind palace. He may or may not have planted some traps in multiple rooms while the others were gone, no big deal. Wasn’t like any of them were real anyway. He did make sure to make his way back to the den though as soon as he heard the others return to Thomas’ living room since that’s where Janus was most likely to go afterwards. From what Remus could hear, he hadn’t been successful this time either.

Remus and been attempting to perfect his headstand against the wall when Janus stormed in, clearly pissed about what happened with the others.

” _Do not allow him or any of his friends to stick around that long ever again,_ ” they could hear Virgil warn Thomas.

“Did you have fun getting shot down by Thomas for a third time?” Remus teased.

“Shut up,” Janus snapped. “I tried to do my job and get them to understand, but they’re all so dense it’s unbelievable!”

“Should’ve let me have a turn,” Remus said, letting his body fall, thudding against the floor. He popped back up and grinned. “Let me rough ‘em up a bit!”

Janus took a seat on the couch and nodded slowly. “...you’re right.”

Remus sighed, rolling his eyes. “And you’re lying to me again.”

“No, I’m not,” Janus admitted. He sounded exhausted. It was rare to see the serpent not even attempt to mask how tired he was.

“Remus, go have your fun. Go wild, ape shit, I don’t care anymore. If Thomas wants to be completely honest with himself, then he’ll get honesty. No more hiding his forbidden thoughts. Go do whatever it is you’ve been wanting to do this whole time.”

Remus blinked. “You mean it?”

Janus sighed and leaned back, pulling his hat over his face to block the light. “As long as you don’t get Thomas severely injured or killed, I couldn’t care less.”

******

Remus had been sending wild thoughts to Thomas all night, causing Patton and Virgil to freak out, resulting in a sleep deprived Thomas mumbling in front of a camera in his living room attempting to make a video and ultimately failing to get out a coherent sentence. Roman tried asking about the issue, but Virgil was quick to shut it down.

” _Yo- What?! Nothing else! There's nothin' else!_ ” Patton lied to the creative side. ” _Uhh, we were just talking about something and never anything else._ ”

”Patton, I thought you wanted to be more honest?” Janus smirked. Remus hadn’t even shown his face and he was already causing this much discord.

“First thing I’m gonna do when I go up there is knock Roman the fuck out,” Remus announced, hyping himself up.

“Not that I’m complaining, but why?” Janus asked. He wasn’t sure what Remus’ plan was for when he went up there, or even if the Duke had a plan for today.

“Because it’s my turn to play the role of Thomas’ creativity. I want to make a horrible impression and I’m not going to let him get in my way,” Remus explained.

” _...we're gonna end up in really dangerous territory_ ,” they heard Virgil warn.

“Sounds like our anxious friend is already onto you,” Janus smirked.

“Oh it’s gonna be just like old times,” Remus sighed wistfully. “Well, minus you since you’re letting Thomas try out this whole honesty scam.” 

“I’ll be listening, but my butt will not be leaving that couch.”

“Are you lying?” Remus asked.

“No, remember? We’re giving honesty a try,” Janus chuckled, taking a seat. “Have fun up there.”

Remus winked before vanishing, going up to Thomas’ living room for the first time. Hearing everyone’s reactions to the Duke’s sudden appearance was entertaining to say the least. The sound of music could suddenly be heard though over Thomas’ panicking.

” _CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHO HE IS?!_ ”

Janus’ eyes widened in surprise. “I know I told him to go wild, but I was not expecting a musical number as his introduction.”

It was hilarious listening to Thomas, Patton, and Virgil struggle to shut up Remus. Virgil knew what he was like, but now Thomas understood what Janus had to deal with on the daily. He should’ve been thanking Janus for keeping Remus under wraps all this time, but if Thomas didn’t want his help, then fine by Janus. 

Logan was trying to explain how someone couldn’t fake not doing something unless they were to do the thing and then lie about it afterwards. Janus smirked, supporting that idea fully.

“ _OOH! How fun! You know who could help us with that?_ ” Remus suggested.

“I said I’m not leaving this couch today,” Janus chuckled, leaning back. As frustrated as he was over Thomas and friends not listening to him, he could get used to this not getting involved idea. 

Patton suggested to Thomas to pretend not to think about whatever bullshit Dukey decided to spit out. That did confuse Janus a bit, since they already discussed the fact that repression doesn’t work. 

” _That's what repression is?_ ” Patton asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

That was almost enough to make Janus want to to get involved again. “How is Thomas still alive with these morons running the show?” He groaned. 

Most of the stuff Remus was shouting to them was stuff Janus had all heard before, so he wasn’t paying too much attention to him. He was really only listening to make sure the others didn’t make matters worse for Thomas. Not that Janus cared. 

Logan, being the only intelligent one up there, finally asked the big question: ” _How are you doing right now?_ ”

” _I don’t know,_ ” Thomas mumbled.

“Clearly he’s fine,” Janus said.

The conversation went on longer than Janus would’ve liked, but he couldn’t really blame Remus for wanting to milk his time up there. While setting the Duke free was Janus’ idea, he couldn’t help but feel an ounce of relief that Logan had been there to reign everyone else in. Not that he’d ever admit that out loud. 

The sliding door slammed open and Remus jumped into the room, smiling widely. “So? How did I do? I think I made some wonderful suggestions!”

“They were all excellent ideas,” Janus hummed. “I’m sad I couldn’t have been there in person.”

The other sides had all gone back to the mind palace, but they could still hear Virgil up there speaking to Thomas. He was beating himself up for not being able to do much about Remus, and Thomas was not understanding the guilt.

” _Because I was one of them._ ”

Janus paused. “You heard that too, right?”

“Oh shit he actually said it,” Remus said, sounding just as shocked.

Janus frowned. That simple confession had been more surprising than anything Remus had said all day. Janus hadn’t expected it, and just like Thomas, he didn’t know what to say in response.

******

For once, Janus wasn’t listening in from the comfort of the den. It was late and he could feel the frustration in the mind palace. It had been the day of the callback, and instead, Thomas was just now returning from a wedding where he wasted the day playing a stupid game on his phone. Patton and Roman were up there trying to calm him down it sounded like, but Janus couldn’t care less. He had tried to tell them Thomas wanted to go to the callback. They chose not to listen.

” _I… I made a decision with a blindfold on,_ ” he heard Thomas sigh. 

“Oh now you get what I was trying to tell you!” Janus scoffed. “Glad you figured it out after you made the wrong decision! Perfect timing, Sanders!”

Between that and Thomas’ own anger lingering in the mind palace, Janus was peeved and tried to tune out their very loud conversation. Patton sounded like he was struggling to defend himself and explain why Thomas going to the wedding was the correct choice. 

” _Oh, uh_ ,” dad stuttered. ” _You shouldn't do a good thing just because it makes you feel good. I think._ ”

”That’s not what you told me in the courtroom,” Janus grumbled. He tried to focus on his computer screen as a way to distract himself from the mess of a conversation that was happening above him. Logan was there, sort of, so Janus didn’t need to pay too much attention. After listening in on how Logan handled Remus’ appearance, Janus figures he’d be fine dealing with Morality and Princey.

Listening to the sudden click of Patton hanging up on Logan caught Janus’ attention real quick. “ _Well you can't exactly learn how to care about others from a book, can ya?_ ”

“Did he just shut down literal logic to try and push his moral agenda?” Janus whispered to himself in pure disbelief. He knew Patton had strong opinions on the matter, but he didn’t think he’d literally throw logic out of the metaphorical window.

Janus’ phone buzzed and he quickly picked it up. There was a message from Logan. 

“ _Deceit,_

_Do you remember our conversation when I said that I would trust you to do your job and keep Thomas safe?_

_-Logan “Logic” Sanders._ ”

Janus quickly typed out his response.

“ _No, doesn’t ring a bell._ ”

Before he could wonder if lying via text to Logan was the best idea, Logan’s reply popped up.

“ _Deceit,_

_Would you be willing to disguise yourself as me and supervise their conversation? I am not fond of where Patton is taking things and would appreciate it if you would call in as me and make sure he doesn’t take things too far._

_-Logan “Logic” Sanders_ ”

That was a request Janus never thought he’d get. “ _That’ll go over swimmingly since last time I pretended to be you, the others took so long to figure me out._ ”

“ _Deceit,_

_Patton, Roman, and Thomas all figured out you were not me last time in quite a timely fashion. I will provide you with some sources that you can use to be more effective in your deception. You do not have to show up in person. You can call in just like I did. This should make it harder for them to realize it’s not really me present._

_-Logan ‘Logic’ Sanders_ ”

Janus stared at the messages. Logan asking for some advice regarding notes or ideas was one thing, but this... this was something new to Janus entirely. No one had ever reached out and asked him to directly help Thomas out like this.

“ _Send me some highlights from your sources. I don’t have time to read everything_.”

It didn’t take long for a message containing a document link full of notes and sources to pop up. Janus took a deep breath to help him focus. One final message from Logan popped up before he could call in.

“ _Deceit,_

_I’m trusting you._

_-Logan ‘Logic’ Sanders_.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you as always for reading 💚
> 
> Episodes referenced in order:  
> • Fitting In  
> • Moving On Part 1  
> •12 Days of Christmas  
> •Can Lying Be Good??  
> •Why Do We Get Out of Bed in the Morning?  
> •Learning New Things About Ourselves  
> •Embarrassing Phases  
> •Selfishness v. Selflessness  
> •Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts  
> •Putting Others First
> 
> (No I didn’t spend 3 hours reading over every episodes transcript & taking notes on moments to reference for a one-shot fanfic. That’s crazy. Shush.)


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